


The Perils Of Getting Clean

by LexieCarver



Category: Supernatural
Genre: F/M, Funny, laundromat hijinks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-21
Updated: 2017-04-21
Packaged: 2018-10-22 09:02:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10693773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LexieCarver/pseuds/LexieCarver
Summary: Pairing: Castiel x Reader, Castiel x unnamed OFC (friendship)Word Count: 2,904Beta: @raspberrymamaA/N: Fluffy, adorable, confused Castiel doing laundry. Kind of angsty for Cas not angsty in general and funny. Hehe. This was written for @demonangelimpala Castiel Being Human Challenge.





	The Perils Of Getting Clean

(Aesthetic by me. DO NOT POST this ANYWHERE else)

 

[Also posted on Tumblr-](http://roxy-davenport.tumblr.com/post/159842901111/the-perils-of-getting-clean)

 

The laundromat. Humans thought of this place as a means to an end. You come in with dirty clothes and you come out with clean ones. You simply wash your clothes. Easy right? But when you’re an angel just turned human, these places are terrifying. What’s the etiquette? What do you wear? What do you say to others? Why do people look at you? And how do you deal with well, everything? Did they know what Castiel was and that he didn’t belong here? He heard that humans could be empathetic. Were they angelic spies or simply humans curious about him?

 

 

In hindsight, this whole plan might not have been the best idea. He hadn’t even asked you if he could do the laundry. He just took it from you. Cas wanted to surprise you for letting him stay with you when the boys turned him down. This was supposed to be a present for you so he couldn’t mess this up. He had assumed the whole process was simple. You explained it to him once when he was an angel but you were wearing shorts and a tank top at the time so his attention was elsewhere.

 

 

One quick glance around the room and he knew he had to take off his trench coat. No one was wearing a jacket here and it was quite hot. He had on a maroon sweatshirt, jeans and a blue shirt, all of which he stole from Dean. Was that not the right thing to wear? Was it too fancy? Some people were just in shorts and a tank top. He supposed he was fine dressed as he was.

 

 

Everyone else was with someone else though. This seemed to be a couple’s activity or a family one. He was a single attractive man doing laundry by himself. Eyebrows shot up when they saw him put in lacey bras and underwear. Castiel blushed as he quickly pushed them into an open washer, all the while feeling their gaze on him.

 

 

Castiel tried very hard not to imagine how your body would look in these. How full your breasts would be. He never saw you naked, but if these were under your clothes, he was rethinking his position on the matter. You considered him a friend, you were kind and always there for him. He refused to mess it up even if he did have a strong desire to be with you. You were the only loyal friend he had. He wasn’t sure when he fell in love with you but he’d been silently in love for what felt like centuries. To make everything more awkward, he became hard at the thought and tried to shift his pose this way and that when all eyes were on him again. Being hard in a laundromat seemed to be shameful.

 

 

He watched an old lady put in her clothes and mimicked her. Closing the door. The lady gave him an angry look; he didn’t know why. Was it weird to stare?

 

 

He then noticed that people were using quarters. He thought as much and emptied a mountain of change on the top of the washer. The question was which of these were the coins. The large one it seemed. And several large coins at that.

 

 

He heard groaning behind him and saw there was a large line forming behind him waiting for washers. They seemed to be mad. It wasn’t his fault. He wasn’t doing this deliberately; he was just new to washing clothes. He didn’t want to make anyone uncomfortable but this was rather difficult to figure out. He had no practice washing anything when he could just snap his fingers and his grace did it for him. He felt bad for holding up everyone but he didn’t know what to do. He looked confused at the coins and watched as the woman next to him took the biggest one and slide it in along with several others and then pressed them in. He copied her. Good he took the coins out of the “Asshole Tax” which was basically a jar that had that on it. You called it a makeshift piggie bank. The thought of putting money in a pig was horrifying to Cas and he was happy the coins were in a plastic jar instead of a pig.

 

 

The money was in, the clothes were there, he was doing great but his face paled as he noticed that he had yet another choice to make. How many more choices were there? Did humans go to school to learn how to use this? Did they have instructions? Doing laundry was a minefield of tough decisions. What setting to use? What were the differences between the settings and why would one chose one over the other? Did something bad happen if you choose the wrong one?

 

 

He must have stared at the machine for several minutes. He didn’t want to let you down and the choice was a difficult and important one. What if he choose the wrong setting? Would the clothes still get washed? Would they get ruined? But the angry glares and murmurs intensified behind him. He had to pick a setting. There were lace bras here, so shouldn’t he do delicate? The bras looked delicate but the rest of the clothes weren’t delicate. Should he take them out and put the delicate ones in another washer? He’d have to wait on that line among all those judgmental humans. And that didn’t seem at all fun.

 

 

He refused to text you about this. He was human now and would learn how to do human things. Besides, you were on a hunt and he wasn’t going to endanger you to wash clothes. He decided to put it on delicate and stepped back pocketing the rest of the mountain of change. He cringed at the sound of it scraping on the top of the washer as he put it all carefully into his pocket.

 

 

He then grabbed the detergent and was carefully measuring it out. He couldn’t remember how much you said humans put in so he was going to play it safe and put just a little in. Just as he was pouring, kids ran behind him and he dumped a lot in as a result of being jostled.

 

 

He stared wide-eyed at the washer, Mouth agape in shock and horror. His hand pressed into the small window as he watched a mountain of soap go into the pile of clothes. He was bereft and strained his hands and wrist in vain, trying to open it. He banged on the window watching suds form.

 

 

Castiel turned around to glare at the kids who were using the laundromat like a playground. They seemed to be playing a game. They kept shouting out, “tag you’re it.” The kids proceeded to trip an old lady as she was getting to a washer, then stole a cart and started playing with it and even took people’s clothes out of it. The children's parents were nowhere to be seen for a good fifteen minutes and then it was all, “oh my boys didn’t do that.”

 

 

“Yes ma’am they did.” Castiel replied firmly.

 

 

“Don’t ma’am me.”

 

 

“I mean no disrespect. Quite the opposite but your sons were running around amok creating quite the disturbance. May I request that if you are not here to watch them, they should not be here alone?”

 

 

“Are you telling me how to raise my damn kids?!”

 

 

“No, I am just asking you to consider others.”

 

 

“Fuck you. You self-righteous prick. You’re lucky your clothes are still inside the washer ‘cause I would totally take them. What a nice red lace bra.”

 

 

“If you do so I will return with force.” Castiel threatened, his stance ready for a fight, his voice booming in the small laundromat. Castiel held the same gaze he had when he was a soldier as he stared the woman down. The woman was the first to break, avoiding eye-contact any further. She grabbed her kids and threw him a bitchy glare leaving promptly. Someone clapped him on the back. He tensed not knowing who the stranger was. Now Castiel understood personal bubbles.

 

 

“You’re a brave one. We’ve been trying to tell her off for ages. Thank you.”

 

 

The voice sounded sweet, the words sincere so slowly Castiel turned around. “I’m happy I could be of assistance.” He stated tentatively.

 

 

“First time here?”

 

 

“Is that obvious?” Castiel inquired, eyes on the ground.

 

 

“You spent two minutes staring at the machine and fretting over which setting to put it on. I’d say so. I’ll save your bacon so your girlfriend doesn’t get mad at you.”

 

 

“She’s not my girlfriend.” Castiel said all too quickly.

 

 

“But you want her to be?” She gently pushed.

 

 

“I figured as much ‘cause my boyfriend never does my wash.” She said with a chuckle. “Come on, now you gotta wait. Nothing more we can do. We’ll see if it’s messed up and then we’ll talk over what to do.”

 

 

“I am Castiel.”

 

 

“That’s a rare name. I would tell you mine but I don’t think your girlfriend would be happy. Women don’t usually like female friends hanging around or at least I wouldn’t judging by how hot you are. I would want to lock that down. I was never good at being just friends anyway so let’s just leave it here, in this moment. A kind woman helping a man in need.”

 

 

Castiel was confused but smiled back at her. She logic was confusing but seemed sound. She smiled softly at him encouraging a smile from him.

 

 

The washer dinged a few minutes later and she motioned her head towards it waving him over.

 

 

“This is where you would add more soap. But seeing as there is quite a lot maybe not. May I?” she asked. She took the detergent from Castiel and carefully added the tiniest amount. “There we go. Perfect.” She handed back Castiel’s detergent and grabbed her own, putting some soap into her washer and then sat back down with Castiel. She smiled towards him and tried to start a communication with the adorable, cute human.

 

 

“Have you lived here long?”

 

 

“No. I had a mission, a purpose and I was betrayed by a friend and I lost everything and now I’m here.”

 

 

“Very heavy for laundromat chatter.”

 

 

Castiel’s face dropped, “Oh forgive me. I don’t know the proper etiquette. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

 

 

She shook her head, “Think nothing of it. It’s quite alright. I sensed you had a sad past. A grown man confused and panicking about laundry definitely has a story to it. I am sorry to hear about your friend. Anyone who could take advantage of a kind, trusting soul such as yourself is a horrible person and I hope karma gets him or her.”

 

 

“Karma? I do not know this person?”

 

 

“I can see why your soon-to-be girlfriend likes you. Karma isn’t a person. It’s an idea. That whatever someone does comes back to them.’

 

 

“I like that idea.”

 

 

“I thought you might.”

 

 

“Why are you here, if I can be so forward?”

 

 

“I asked you the same question. Of course turn it back around, fair play and all. I moved here, well at least for now. Me and my boyfriend are artists and very flighty people. We’re here because he got a great photography job and I might have my work in a gallery. This is our big break. Or I hope it is. I think we’re both over the starving artist thing.”

 

 

Castiel’s face changed from nervous to enthusiastic. She couldn’t help but laugh and smile fondly at him. The washer beeped and she sprung into action getting two metal carts and moving over to him. She ignored the looks, not caring what anyone thought of her.

 

 

“Okay so now the clothes are clean and now you have to get them into the dryer. Watch me and then you can copy.”

 

 

He nodded, grateful for the example. The woman put the metal cart under the washer, opened the door and grabbed the clothes, filling up the cart. He did the same. She glanced over at him smiling, waiting for him to finish.

 

 

“Okay, now you added a lot of soap so let’s see if it messed anything up. Do you mind?’

 

 

Castiel shook his head, “No.”

 

 

She touched the clothes looking for soap and finding none.

 

 

“Great okay, off to the dryers. You were lucky. See no soap anywhere here. And they smell amazing.”

 

 

Castiel blushed scarlet at that.

 

 

“If there was soap residue then all you would have to do, is do another wash, no soap, just put the quarters in, press ‘Delicate’ and let it go.”

 

 

Castiel nodded, committing that fact to memory.

 

 

She wheeled her cart and motioning with her head for Castiel to follow. “Just a note, usually the dryers on the ground aren’t that great because people really don’t use them much.”

 

 

“Why not?” he questioned.

 

 

“Don’t know maybe ‘cause it’s easier to reach up then bend down?”

 

 

Castiel thought about that for a second.

 

 

She added, “Hence they could be broken and then you wasted your money. So let’s pick two adjoining top dryers.”

 

 

Castiel nodded and put the clothes in just like she did.

 

 

She waited until he loaded everything in. “Okay, so now what setting? I would put it on the medium setting. It won’t damage sensitive clothes, meaning clothes made with sensitive fabrics, fabrics that would tear with intense washing or drying like that lace bra. The lowest setting may end up not drying the clothes all the way and then you get soppy clothes.”

 

 

Castiel smiled. He felt smart now that he knew about the correct settings and what to do here. This wasn’t so difficult after all. He dug into his pockets looking for the big coins. He held his hand out going through the coins to try and find the big ones. The woman just plucked them out of his hands and put them into the machine for him. She clapped him on the back. “There you go. Now all you have to do is wait for them to be ready. I’m going to get a quick bite. Today is a chore day for me so I’ll be running around. I would invite you but again I don’t want to blur lines. She’s a lucky girl and I’m lucky to be with Pete.”

 

 

That, Castiel understood, he nodded before continuing, “Thank you so much for helping me. Not everyone would.”

 

 

“No they wouldn’t. Humans as a general group aren’t the nicest, they can be greedy, judgmental and rather self-involved but occasionally you meet someone nice. To repay me, promise me that you’ll tell her the truth, that you’ll make her your girlfriend.”

 

 

Castiel blushed and looked down at the ground. She waited for his response, hands on her hips. Castiel finally met her gaze, “I promise.”

 

 

“Great. See you around maybe, cowboy.” She smiled at the confused look on Castiel’s face.

 

 

Castiel didn’t feel out of place anymore. He knew how to do laundry and

he felt like a part of the human race. He belonged here and no one could tell him otherwise. It was just a learning curve, he could do this. He waited, watching the small examples of humanity in the laundry room; observing and making notes before he took his clothes and went out into the sunlight, walking the few blocks back to your apartment. As soon as he got back, you sent him a text telling him that you’d be home soon. He smiled at the thought. He had missed you terribly this week. He was so happy he didn’t mess up the laundry. He made a promise to a woman, he was going to let you know how he felt tonight and make the rest of the day about you.

 

 

You came back home exhausted and relieved that you made it home alive to find your laundry in your drawers along with a chocolate box and the most adorable teddy that said, “I love you.” Castiel was waiting by the door for your reaction. He took in your confused look and got worried you didn’t feel the same way. But to his surprise you walked over to him and brought your lips to his. He responded back immediately. He moaned into the kiss, finally feeling your soft lips on his after all this time. It felt long overdue.

 

 

“I’ve love you too; since I first met you,” you confessed.

 

 

“I felt the same way,” he added.

 

 

“We’re idiots.”

 

 

“Fools in love, “ Cas clarified.

 

 

You smiled at that. “Thank you for doing the laundry.”

 

 

“Of course, anything to put a smile on your face.”

 

 

“Well, you know I just came from a long grueling hunt. Any ideas on how you can make me smile?” you inquired with a smirk.

 

 

“Are you sure?”

 

 

“Never been more sure.”

 

That was all the encouragement Cas needed. He dove onto the bed holding your body close to his as his lips pressed onto yours, needy and persistent. This was shaping up to be an amazing day. Cas wanted every day to be like today because if they were, he had nothing to worry about. He got this; he could be human in a heartbeat for you, his girlfriend.


End file.
